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November 4, 2013

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI)

From
the CEO down to the lowest levels of any organization, every minute of the day;
someone is making a decision that has to have an impact on the company’s
performance. Sometimes, a decision is at a very high strategic level that it affects
the fate of the entire organization, and other times; a decision might be
narrowly defined and tactical, affecting a single person or department for a
very short window of time. When taken together, these decisions make up a
significant portion of the “day in the life” at any given organization, be it a
company, governmental agency, or non-profit organization.

In
spite of the dramatic advances in technology and tools that aid in the
decision-making process, however, far too many people still make decisions the old-fashioned
way: by blending a gumbo of tidbits of current information, best recollections
of the past, advice from others, and a whole lot of “gut instinct,” and then
assessing which path is likely to give the best possible outcome for the
decision at hand.

Decisions
drive organizations. Making a good decision at a critical moment may lead to a
more efficient operation, a more profitable enterprise, or perhaps a more
satisfied customer. So it only makes sense that the companies that make better
decisions are more successful in the long run.

That’s
where business intelligence comes in.

Business
intelligence is defined in various ways. For the moment, though, think of BI as
using data about yesterday and today to make better decisions about tomorrow.
Whether it’s selecting the right criteria to judge success, locating and
transforming the appropriate data to draw conclusions, or arranging information
in a manner that best shines a light on the way forward, business intelligence makes
companies smarter. It allows managers to see things more clearly, and permits them
a glimpse of how things will likely be in the future.